


bring on all the pretenders (i'm not afraid)

by afire



Series: hold on to spinning around [3]
Category: Girl Meets World, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Hogwarts AU, Hogwarts Crossover, i still like it, i think its alright, stay tuned for more rilaya, this did not turn out at all like what i planned but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 02:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7599061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maya doesn't think she deserves anything, Riley quickly puts an end to that.</p><p>(or: maya would burn the world for riley, but no one ever thinks about how riley would do the exact same thing)</p>
            </blockquote>





	bring on all the pretenders (i'm not afraid)

They're filing in from a Quidditch match, Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor, and Riley is all sunshine and smiles because they just won, giving them a spot in the semi-finals against Ravenclaw. The winner of that match will play Slytherin for the finals, and it's not as if she hasn't played against Maya before, but this is the first time there have been such high stakes on a game.

Maya doesn't seem too bothered, happily swinging their hands between them, humming a tune that Riley half-recognises. Riley holds her broom tightly in her other hand, still drunk on the high of winning a match, Maya's happiness contagious.

"You're going to win the match against Ravenclaw, don't ask me how I know, I just know." Maya sounds like someone who didn't drop Divination at the first possible moment and Riley can't help but laugh, grip tightening on her girlfriend's hand.

They stumble into a group of people on their way to the Great Hall, maroon and gold robes evident in the throng that's bottlenecked in front of the hallway.

"It was a fluke, let me tell you. Hufflepuff's Keeper is useless anyway! She wouldn't be able to save the Quaffle if I passed it to her."

Maya's hand leaves Riley's and suddenly Oliver Phillips is pressed against the wall with a wand at his throat, Maya's fist curling around his robes. Riley starts forward before anything can happen, arm curling around Maya's waist.

"It's not worth it."

Maya doesn't move and Riley tugs gently, starting to walk away. "Maya, it's not worth it."

Oliver is still visibly shaking, trying very hard to seem like the big, bad, brave Quidditch captain he's supposed to be. Maya looks infinitely scarier than he could ever be, but she lets go of his robes, loosens the grip on her wand and lets Riley pull her away.

Oliver straightens up, dusts off his robes and manages to scoff, though everyone can hear the quaver in his voice. "You don't deserve her anyway."

There's a burst of light in the corridor, and Oliver Phillips is lying on the floor, frozen solid because of the full body-bind curse that's just been thrown at him. Everyone turns to look at Maya, but her wand is nowhere near high enough to have cast that spell, her grip isn't even right.

Riley's wand is out, and her gaze is steely, usual happy smile wiped clean off her face as she lowers her arm, tucking her wand back into her robes before reaching to grab Maya's hand tightly, seemingly unperturbed by the dead silence in the corridor. "She deserves all of me, and more."

And then she's walking away, Maya stumbling behind her before she finds her footing, glancing back at the crowd of students before following Riley down the corridor.

**✨ ✨ ✨**

Riley leads them down toward the dungeon, deciding that the Slytherin common room is the best place to be right now. Hufflepuffs are nice a majority of the time but they're the nosiest people in existence, and Riley really doesn't want to deal with any of them right now, not when Maya has a death grip on her hand and is the most silent she's been in years.

Riley whispers the password to the common room and the stone door slides open, she pushes Maya gently in front of her and watches as she climbs in, clambering in after her girlfriend and turning around to make sure the door slides close. What little Slytherins that are sitting next to the fireplace pay them no attention, used to the fact that Riley is here more often than not.

Maya makes a beeline for the dormitories, still keeping a tight hold on Riley's hand, and Riley follows dutifully, pausing to make sure there's no one else in the sixth year dormitories before joining Maya on her bed.

"Peaches?"

"Hmm, yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Maya sits up straight, wriggling to get more comfortable on the bed before turning to Riley and smiling, too wide to be real. "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You know what he said wasn't true, right? You definitely deserve me, all of me." 

Maya laughs weakly. "Yeah, sure. He's just a Gryffindor anyway, no one ever listens to them."

Riley can tell Maya's not over it, but she lets it slide, having learnt a long time ago that she can't force Maya into having conversations she doesn’t want to, that doing so just causes her to close up even more.

"Alright, if you're sure."

Maya stands up and pushes Riley back gently, swinging one leg over her hips and grinning down at her, troubles momentarily forgotten. "The surest," she says, before leaning down to steal a kiss.

Riley's pretty happy with how the entire situation has turned out, but she resolves to make sure Maya really didn't take what Oliver said to heart. Right now, she kisses back and hopes none of Maya's roommates come back too soon.

**✨ ✨ ✨**

They learn about Boggarts in the next Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Potter waxing poetic about a man named Remus Lupin and how he was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to ever walk the face of magical Britain. Riley jots down notes about Boggarts, when Professor Potter actually remembers to talk about them, but spends most of the lesson keeping an eye on Maya, who stiffens every time a Boggart is even mentioned.

Their homework for the lesson is to read the chapter on Boggarts, which Riley has already read, so she stuffs her textbook into her bag, slipping her arm into Maya's and leading her girlfriend out of class, pretending not to notice when Maya stumbles over her own feet and doesn't even try to cover it up.

"Maya."

"Riles?"

"Maya, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, why?"

Maya turns her head up, cocking a brow in a good imitation of someone who's confused. After all these years, Riley knows better. She pulls softly so that they're standing in a little alcove at the end of the corridor, bending down a little so she can look Maya in the eye.

"Maya Penelope Hart, you tell me what's wrong right now!" It's taking a lot of self-control not to stomp her right foot in indignation like a complete child but Riley will deal with that particular problem later.

Maya is biting at her lip, squashing herself into the wall in an attempt to make herself as small as possible, and Riley is struck suddenly by their height difference. She never noticed how short Maya really was, because she always seemed to be the best young witch this side of the Atlantic. It's hard to think someone looks small when they're holding a big steel bat and sending a Bludger across the entire Quidditch pitch to distract the Seeker from successfully acquiring the Snitch.

Now Maya looks impossibly tiny, arms wrapped tightly around her torso, shrinking in on herself and unconsciously pressing against the wall. Vulnerable isn't a word Riley has ever associated with Maya, and she never wants to do it again.  
"Peaches, are you okay?"

"I'm- I'm fine, Riles, I-"

"Maya, please."

Maya finally looks up and Riley is more than shocked to see her brilliant blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Riley feels like someone just punched her in the gut, stealing the breath from her lungs, rendering her speechless. Maya is crying and Riley can feel her heart shattering to pieces because here is the girl that she loves, no longer the brave warrior she always has been.

"Maya, what's wrong?"

"I- I just. It's nothing, it's oka-"

"Maya it's not okay. Please tell me."

Maya takes a shaky breath, leaning forward to press her face against Riley's collarbone, arms twisting around her waist. "Something happened, I- I don't like talking about it. I don't do well around Boggarts."

Riley frowns, because Boggarts wouldn't have shown up in the muggle world, so Maya must have encountered it during her time here in Hogwarts, and that means Riley should know about it, because they rarely left each other alone. The problem is, Riley doesn't know about it.

Before she can ask Maya speaks again, breath rattling in her chest. "It was fourth year, you had Quidditch practice and I had detention because I did something stupid, can't remember what it was. Feeny had me cleaning one of the old classrooms with no magic. There was a closet in there, and I was bored so I opened it to see if it led to a secret passageway but there was a Boggart and Feeny had my wand because he knew I would cheat and I couldn't- I couldn't do anything it just- it did its thing and I must have started yelling because Potter came running and he got rid of it."

Riley casts her mind back to fourth year, she remembers that exact day, actually, because on the walk back from the Quidditch pitch, a first year had come running up to her, furiously whispering something about Maya being in the Hospital Wing. Riley doesn't think she's ever run that fast.

"You told me you tripped and hit your head on the windowsill!"

"Well I- I think I did actually did that, trying to get away from it. I don't remember much, Potter got me to the Hospital Wing and I was sleeping up until you showed up."

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"I think Madam Pomfrey tried to erase my memory of it, I must have been in a pretty bad state when Potter brought me in. That one afternoon has always been hazy but the lesson just now- I think it triggered something and I just- it was terrible-" Maya's voice breaks and Riley can feel herself start to cry too.

"Riles, I was so scared, I don't remember what it turned into but I was just- I was so scared."

Riley presses a kiss to Maya's head, gently rubbing circles onto her back. "Hey shh, it's fine. I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Riles, it's not your fault."

"I don't care," Riley says fiercely, pulling back so she can look Maya in the eye. "You needed me and I wasn't there for you, I'm sorry."

Maya sighs, tripping forward to sink into Riley's arms again. "I'm just- I don't think I'll ever do well around Boggarts."

"That's okay, I'll deal with them, you don't have to worry about a thing."

"Riles?"

"Peaches?"

"I love you."

Riley hums, arms tightening around Maya's neck. "I love you, too."

**✨ ✨ ✨**

Riley finds out the hard way just how difficult it is to deal with Boggarts when she's not there when she finishes her afternoon patrol as Prefect and goes looking for her girlfriend in the Transfiguration classroom. She also finds out that Hogwarts is apparently a breeding ground for all kinds of malicious magical creatures.

"Maya?"

Riley nudges the door open, hiking her bag higher over her shoulder as she pokes her head in, a brilliant grin on her face. It falls right off when she sees Maya backed into the corner of the room, wand out in front of her. Maya's hands are shaking, she's not going to get any magic done right now.

"No, no no no, Riley, no-"

Riley is halfway across the room to Maya when she hears her name and she stops, turning to the Slytherin with a confused look on her face. "Maya?"

"No- don't Riley, please. You told me you loved me, just now. Please-"

Riley hightails it around the desk and stops short when she sees who, or what, Maya is talking to. It's her but, not her. There's no trace of a smile on Boggart!Riley's face, none of the usual warmth, and she seems to be mouthing something, but Riley's attention is drawn to the fact that Boggart!Riley has a wand and is pointing it in Maya's direction.

And if Riley knows anything, has learned anything from dating Maya Hart, it's the fact that her girlfriend would rather get tossed into the lake to live with the Giant Squid than use any sort of harmful magic against Riley. It's this thought, and the fact that Maya is now sobbing, that causes Riley to step forward, not even giving the Boggart a change to respond when she raises her own wand, sparing a second to wonder how weird it is that she's fighting herself before doing the wand movement that's shown in the textbook.

"Riddikulus!"

The Boggart vanishes with a resounding crack and a puff of purple smoke, and Riley just about sprints across the room toward Maya, dropping to her knees and easing her arms around the other girl, leaving her wand on the floor next to her.

"Maya?"

"Riles- I love you, please don't- I can't-"

"Maya no, it's gone, it's me, I got rid of it."

Maya is shaking, so Riley sits up and pulls the Slytherin into her lap, rubbing soothing circles onto her lower back. "Peaches, it's me, I'm here, I lo-"

Maya launches herself up for a kiss and Riley obliges, keeping it soft and warm, tightening her arms around Maya's waist until she stops shaking and starts to take deep breaths.

"Riles?"

"It's me Maya, I'm here, it's gone."

"It- I couldn't. I couldn't do it, I'm sorry."

"Peaches, it's alright. It's okay, I love you, it's okay."

They sit there for what feels like hours but is probably something like twenty minutes before Maya speaks again, this time her voice is decidedly stronger and her breathing is steady.

"That's what I'm most afraid of," she says softly, and Riley almost misses it, but she's been so in tune with Maya for so long, it's second-nature to keep an ear out for her voice by now.

"What is?"

Silence for three and a half heartbeats, and then-

"You not loving me."

Riley's jaw clenches and she hugs Maya tighter, leaning their foreheads together when Maya turns to her in confusion. "Maya I love you _so much_. I love you so much that sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. And I'm never going to stop, peaches, I love you in the forever kind of way."

Maya doesn't respond, but all the tension leaves her body and Riley takes that as a good sign. They need to have a conversation about this, soon, but now they can sit in the corner of the Transfiguration classroom until Maya is ready to leave. Riley isn't going anywhere.

**✨ ✨ ✨**

It's two weeks before Maya even brings it up, and Riley waits patiently because she knows if she's the one that talks about it first then Maya will go somewhere to sulk for two hours and she really doesn't want that to happen.

They're sitting under a tree by the lake, a little way away from all the students throwing food at the Giant Squid, content in their little bubble of privacy. Maya is dozing, or at least still half-asleep, body slumped against Riley's, head on her shoulder. Riley is sitting cross-legged, leaning on the tree with a book in her lap, lazily flipping a page every few minutes or so, reading but not absorbing.

"Riles?"

Riley allows herself a smile before shutting her book decisively, running her fingers along the cover and setting it on the grass next to her. "Yeah, peaches?"

"Sorry about- the other day."

"It's okay, you don't have to apologise."

"I just, what if the Boggart decided to target you instead? I would've been useless I-"

"Maya it doesn't matter, it's okay, and I can take care of myself."

"Riley if we ever come across another Boggart I won't be able to protect you becau-"

"You don't have to Maya, you don't have to keep jumping in front of me whenever something bad happens."

There's silence for a fraction of a second before Maya speaks again, her voice a fierce whisper. "Riley I would do _anything_ for you."

Riley can hear the conviction in her voice, truth ringing in every syllable. There's no doubt that Maya would quite literally do anything to keep her safe, and that scares her, combined with what Maya is capable of. It scares her that someone loves her this much. She wonders how it must feel for Maya, who doesn't seem to know that Riley loves her the same.

"Have you ever stopped to consider that I would, too?"

There's the sound of splashing and Riley turns toward the lake, watching as a bunch of students pull someone back from the water. They must have tripped or gotten too close, the Giant Squid looks confused and Riley doesn't blame him. She's squinting at the group of students, wondering if she should go over there to make sure they're all alright when Maya speaks again, so soft that she almost misses it.

"I don’t know if I deserve that."

Riley sits up straight and turns to Maya, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her back and forth gently. "Maya you deserve everything good in the world, please don't ever think you don't."

"I'm sorry I didn't hex Oliver Phillips like I wanted to."

That comment is so out of left field that Riley has to physically stop herself from barking out a laugh. She's not going to ruin this moment with her tendencies to laugh at the most inappropriate moments.

"At least one of us did."

"That was a brilliant body-bind curse you did."

"Thanks, it was fun."

Maya smiles then, face lighting up for what seems like the first time in forever. "Hey, Riles?"

"I love you, too, Maya."

Her girlfriends laughs, letting herself fall with a thump against Riley's shoulder again, wriggling a little to get comfortable. "Okay," she breathes out, closing her eyes.

Riley watches the horde of students throwing toast at the Giant Squid, letting her eyes drift shut as well. There's plenty of time to do work later, right now a nap seems like a good idea.

**Author's Note:**

> hahAhah ah hAH so much whining and groaning and complaining went on behind-the-scenes you don't even k N O W !!! anyway i'm def gonna do a quidditch thing so stay tuned for that but im considering writing post-hogwarts domestic fluff so o o oo u never know!!!! find me on tumblr @fightiingdragons


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